Paper Faces
by fevildevil
Summary: Sweet and short story of a masquerade ball.
1. Chapter 1

_Masquerade!_

 _Paper faces on parade._

 _Masquerade._

 _Hide your face so the world will never find you._

* * *

His father had always insisted that he attend the parties that he held in order to obtain social connections with the designing community, even if he wasn't a designer. Quite frankly they were a pain. No one there was his age, and all they ever spoke about was how well their designs were selling, or how they wanted him as part of their agency. Truly it was all business talk.

This time was different however. This time, his father permitted that he could invite those in his class, as long as they took an interest in design. There was a warning regarding behavior and the fact that this was a trail run, but Adrien was only happy that he had the opportunity at all. Of course, he opened the invitation to his class, and a good amount were excited to join him. Obviously, Nino would attend, but Adrien could not be certain of the other numbers.

Every year the party was thrown, there was a theme, and Adrien was particularly anxious about this year's masquerade ball, going out of his way to specifically prepare an elaborate mask as opposed to the plain one with which he had been initially presented. He hoped dearly that it would not give away his identity.

"You worry too much," Plagg said, paying more attention to the slice of camberet in his paws than to Adrien's concerns. "No one's going to recognize you in _that_ thing." He referred to the heavily embellished, metallic, silver and black mask that barely hid his face as a mask ought to have. It was much more conspicuous than his usual disguise, but much less comparable to it as well.

"You're right," Adrien decided. "It'll be fine. I'll just enjoy the party and try to avoid wearing the mask."

"Right," Plagg agreed before swallowing his slice whole.

* * *

The night of the party, while the night was still young, the lobby of his home was packed. It was an event that many of the guests referred to as highly anticipated, which resulted in some chiefly extravagant costumes. His mask would not stand out in the room. Dotted throughout, Adrien could just make out his classmates, who could only be differentiated by height and plainness of dress. He went down the stairs to greet them.

Chloe made nearly no attempt to be civil and was upon him in seconds of his arrival. She was dressed in clothing nearly as extravagant as the other guests, though she was a great deal shorter than them. As per the norm, he greeted his peers while simultaneously pushing Chloe off of him in the politest manner he could muster. He had hoped she would refrain from that behavior given the environment, though he had to admit she was tamer than usual. Most of his class had decided to attend, for which he was very grateful.

"Marinette is late again!" Adrien turned to face Alya as she spoke, her voice rather terse. Her dress was orange, which seemed to suit her quite nicely. She was on her phone and typing angrily, clearly in disbelief that her friend had not yet arrived.

In truth, he had nearly been late himself. An hour before the party was due to begin, an akuma attack struck and he was forced away in the commotion. Thankfully, he had already lain out his suit and mask and beyond brushing his hair, there was not much that needed to be done. He had barely made it.

"Don't worry about it," Nino said, trying to calm her down. "People are still straggling in. She's not too late. You girls always take forever to get ready anyway." Alya raised an eyebrow but said nothing. It wasn't the right time to put him in his place.

Adrien did his best to distract his friends and entertain them as a host should have. It proved to be difficult, especially when the usual guests tried to catch up with him. He felt torn between it all. But despite that feeling of panic, he had never had so much fun at one of his father's parties.

He hadn't noticed his classmates murmuring until someone nearly knocked him over when walking. Clearly they hadn't been watching where they were going. Alya was buzzing about her friend soon arriving. Adrien glanced at the door, planning to continue his excellent hosting skills. What he saw, he could hardly believe.

When she walked into the room, his eyes nearly left their sockets. Adrien took a deep breath and did his best not to run through the crowd, though he walked towards her firmly, his gaze never wandering.

Her hair was down. Her dress and mask were a pure red and lacked the usual adornment of black spots. But he knew. It was her eyes. When she wore the mask, it was all he could see and it didn't matter that nothing else was the same. He knew those eyes.

It was her.

It was his Ladybug.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** More Miraculous Ladybug! I saw an illustration of a masquerade ball and felt inspired to write something very small and very quick. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue it. I don't have plans for it, I just wanted to write this out. I hope you like it!

P.S. For those unawares, I'm also working on a larger ML fanfic titled Beyond the Mask.


	2. Chapter 2

There were a lot of people. It was the first thing Marinette noticed when she entered the room she was incredibly nervous now that she had been surrounded by designer icons.

She had designed her dress for the evening, and after a lot of persuasion done by both Alya and Tikki, she had decided on a bright red gown. It was, according to their testimonies, her best color. Her mother was no help and included that red was the color of luck in China. How could she have said no?

The most difficult time she had was deciding what color to make the mask. Making it black would be suggestive of her other costume. Making it red would be very similar to her costume. Originally, she had leaned toward the idea of a pouf styled dress, which had come into fashion recently. However, given that the theme of the party was a masquerade ball, she ended up with a cherry red ball gown. The piece was sleeveless and had a corseted top and a long, several layered, tulle skirt. Her mask was the same red as her dress and pointed down to her nose, the ends meeting at a point next to her ears. Finally, she placed feathers in her hair to complete her overall appearance. It was a plain piece, but never before had she made such a gown and that in itself was her own little accomplishment.

Thankfully she didn't stand out too harshly. Many were wearing rightly colored creations and hers was definitely not the flashiest. But despite that fact, she still managed to stand out to at least one person.

"Hey," a voice greeted. Marinette turned to face a masked Adrien and she blushed immediately. The color likely didn't look too good with her dress.

"Hello," she said timidly, trying not to sound crazy. She always found a way to sound a little bit crazy. But Adrien was always kind and never seemed to mind. She really liked that about it.

"You look beautiful." Marinette nearly lost herself to the compliment. It took every ounce of her control not to scream. A small squeak might have escaped her.

"Thank you," she said.

"I didn't know you would be here," he continued, rubbing at the back of his head. He averted his eyes and laughed nervously. Marinette was confused. She was almost certain he had invited the whole class. Had it been possible she had misheard him?

"Of course I would've," Marinette replied. "You did invite me."

"Did I? I… I didn't realize," he stuttered. He seemed to be wrecking his brain for the moment he had even mentioned such a thing. Marinette was beginning to wonder if she had dreamed the invitation to life. "I mean, how did you even know how to get here and…"

"Marinette!" Alya's voice called out from the crowd. Two sets of eyes darted in that very direction. "You're late!" Marinette grinned her apologetic grin and shrugged. She didn't exactly have a lot of time to prepare. "First you tell me it'd be faster if you got ready on your own, and then you show up late." Alya's hands were on her hips and her eyebrow had been raised. Marinette always got just a little bit anxious to see her friend this suspicious of her.

"There was a problem with the dress," she fibbed. "I had to mend it before coming here and it took longer than I thought. Sorry!" Alya sighed, knowledgeable of her friend's clumsiness and went to give her a hug.

"Glad you could make it." The girls walked off, leaving Adrien in a state of shock. He couldn't believe he had never noticed how much Marinette and Ladybug looked alike. To think he nearly mistook her for his Lady. Adrien smiled and shook his head.

It was such a funny coincidence.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hello! I continue to be shocked at the demand for this fic so I decided to try and wrap it up nicely with another chapter. Many had asked for a follow-up chapter and here it is! Give me enough homework to do and I'll produce a butt-load of everything that isn't homework! I hope you all like it. Thank you so much for your support.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey man, are you okay?" Nino asked, snapping Adrien out of his little trance.

"Oh, yea. Yes, I'm fine. I just. I just didn't recognize Marinette," Adrien amended. It was partially the truth.

"Yea, she looks different huh? Fantastic in fact! If the dress had spots, it'd remind me of Ladybug's costume! She'd look just like her." His friend laughed and Adrien tried to join him. Nino was probably joking, not at all able to compare the two girls and find likeness. But the more he laughed, the more Adrien realized that there was no way he could have simply mistaken Marinette the way he had.

"Yea, you're right," he muttered. Perhaps he should have reconsidered his thought. Perhaps, he needed to have a brief talk with Marinette. With the same determined stride, he caught up with Marinette and Alya and tapped a shoulder.

"Marinette. May I speak with you a minute?" Even with the mask, Marinette's bulging eyes did not go amiss. Adrien remained stoic. If he showed any emotion, he felt as if he would betray himself.

"Uhm… Okay?" Adrien walked off and Marinette briefly turned to Alya to smile excitedly before following. They headed off to another room, away from the party goers, and Adrien seemed to hesitate. He didn't know where to begin to ask her. He really wasn't even completely certain it was her. Marinette was one of the few friends he had, and was one of first friends he had ever made. It seemed uncomfortable to think of her as Ladybug. But that being said, he didn't think he would have at all minded if his beloved Ladybug was Marinette. She was a charming girl who tended to be a bit shy and awkward. She was caring, hardworking, and had a fantastic design background, not to mention that she had stood up to Chloé on several occasions. He could believe it. He could believe that she was Ladybug. But he wanted to be certain.

"How, are you?" he asked, beginning as vaguely as possible while trying to think of something to say. She tightened her lips tersely.

"I'm fine… why do you ask?" she replied.

"Well you hurt yourself pretty badly earlier…" he mentioned, referring to a landing mishap during their battle before the party. She appeared to misunderstand intentionally.

"When I stumbled down the stairs?" Marinette looked rather relieved and content with his worrying. "No, I'm fine. It happens all the time." She brushed off the situation but Adrien grew resolute. He grabbed hold of her hands and tightened around her right wrist briefly. She flinched.

"No, I didn't mean the stairs, I meant this." His expression hardened and Marinette was getting nervous. She didn't want to have this conversation anymore. "How did you hurt your wrist?" he pryed. She was avoiding eye contact.

"I strained it while sewing up my dress," Marinette fibbed. It was obviously a lie. He didn't want to corner her into telling him. It was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her to be happy to tell him on her own terms. But he couldn't go on knowing he was so close.

"I know we said we wouldn't say anything. I know I promised you that I wouldn't ask. But when you come in dressed like… Well, it's hard not to see it." She didn't say anything and he decided to continue. He loosened his grip entirely on her hands and simply let them sit within his. "If you want to pretend like nothing happened; like this conversation never happened, I can do that. I won't bother you about it anymore. But if you know who I am by now, could I ask you to think about it? My Lady." He bent down and kissed the back of her right hand gently. Marinette panicked and whipped her hand away from him, nearly smacking him in the face. Her eyes were full of concern and fear and she stood silently. He could tell she wanted to run, but what good would it do her? Adrien could see that her entire face had gone red at this point and he was trying to figure out why. Was she angry with him? Flustered? Confused?

The small red bag that Marinette wore (fascinatingly similar to the one she kept on her daily) popped open. From it, appeared a small and timid creature. Adrien's head jerked up when he saw the red kwami and he inhaled so harshly he thought to damage his lungs. His heart was racing and he found it difficult to breath. His mind was being driven mad.

Before him was his love.

His Ladybug.

It was her.

It was truly, truly her.

Marinette looked shocked at the smiling kwami. Or perhaps she felt betrayed. After gaining some sort of composure, he addressed her.

"Hello," he began, "What is your name?" He extended his right hand's index finger, meaning to shake her hand.

"Hello Adrien, my name is Tikki! It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much!" Adrien glanced at Marinette, amused and curious about what she had said about him. He could feel his inner Chat Noir escaping him. She was clearly anxious and rather displeased.

"Tikki! You said –!"

"I know," Tikki interrupted, trying to calm Marinette down. She meant no offence and only wished to explain herself. "But seeing what has already happened… And Marinette! Look who you've found! I know you'll be careful. I know I can trust you Marinette. I know you'll be okay." When she spoke the last sentence, she looked at both Adrien and Marinette, speaking to them in confidence that their relationship would be strong.

"Well that makes one of us," Marinette murmured. Adrien approached her again.

"I'm sorry Marinette. I'm sorry things turned out this way. I know it was perhaps not the way you had imagined it. But…" He looked confidently into her sky blue eyes. "I should tell you how happy I am to meet you." Her gaze softened ever so slightly. "I'm happy to know that it is you." _I hope you can say the same._ He wanted to say it, but he didn't want to force her to comment on it. He may not have liked what she had to say. After a moment of silence, Adrien didn't know what else he could have said. He felt that he was waiting for her to speak, but perhaps she didn't want to. He made move to leave but was stopped immediately with a hand on his arm. A rush of fear and relief washed over him. He would wait as long as she needed him to. She was staring intently at the folds of his jacket when she spoke but he was okay with this.

"I'm happy that it's you too," she said quietly. His heart nearly leapt from his chest. She was incredibly cute. Adrien raised his hand behind her head and pulled her close to him. She did not resist.

Marinette, knowing it was him, knowing it was Chat Noir, knowing it was Adrien, did not resist him.

Instead, she held to him.

They didn't speak anymore. They did not know what words could fill the situation. They did not know what yet to think. Everything was rushing to catch up to the moment and they simply did not care anymore. Tears flowed over Marinette's mask and were soaked up into Adrien's shirt. So many emotions flooded them both and no words could express them. There were just no more words.

Eyes half opened, Adrien traced along the side of Marinette's head and removed her mask, looking straight into her eyes and admiring her face as if he was looking at her for the first time in his life. Marinette reached up slowly and lowered his mask as well, her heart never ceasing. He leaned down slowly, closing his eyes again, and in wordless motion, their long felt desires were finally met.

 **Author's Note:** Hello again! Firstly, I'd like to apologize (a little bit) for ending the last chapter the way I did. I couldn't decide between the ending that seemed plausible, and the ending that people wanted. So I chose both. ^o^ If you liked the ending from the second chapter, then that was the ending. If you liked this ending, then this is the ending. I've kind of structured every chapter so it could have ended whenever the chapter ended, only to have more information come later. Take what you will.

I had originally made plans to post this yesterday, but unfortunately was inflicted with a truck that, upon driving by, tore out a powerline, thus leaving me without Internet. I also had a lot of lesson plans to make… Hopefully the substantial lengthiness of the chapter will be sufficient for an apology. Sorry for the wait!


End file.
